65 pct of fresh graduates lack right skills for jobs: study

Jessica Fenol and Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News

MANILA – Sixty-five percent of fresh college graduates do not have the right skills to qualify for jobs that they are applying for, according to a study released on Thursday by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines.

This means only 1 in every 3 fresh college graduates are employable, according to an analysis of 60,000 new graduates by New Delhi-based employment solutions firm Aspiring Minds.

“An economy with a large percentage of unemployable candidates is not only inefficient, but socially unstable, too,” the CCAP quoted Aspiring Minds as saying in its report.

“This calls for substantive intervention in curriculum and teaching pedagogy at school and college level to improve basic skills of students,” it added.

The CCAP said the findings were “not surprising” as the hiring rate has been “low” at 6 to 10 percent.

“Students must be educated and trained to develop skills that are specifically required in the contact center industry,” CCAP chairman Benedict Hernandez said.